There is no reason to postpone the discussion or adoption of Bosnia's first Annual National Plan (ANP), a document which brings the country a step closer to membership in the NATO alliance, Defence Minister Marina Pendes told N1.
Bosnia's Council of Ministers was set to discuss the document on December 27 but the discussion was postponed for January 10, as requested by Bosnian Serb ministers Igor Crnadak and Dragan Mektic.
They claimed the conditions for the agenda item to be discussed were not met.
Representatives of Bosnia's Serb-dominated part, Republika Srpska (RS), previously failed to attend a session of the Government Commission for the NATO Integration last week, which was supposed to approve and send to the state ministers Bosnia's first ANP.
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The Commission had a quorum to meet but no quorum to approve the document and send it to the Council of Minister, a former Serb representative in the Commission, Boris Jerinic, earlier explained.
NATO membership is a topic where the Bosniaks, Croats and Serb representatives stand divided, with the former two ethnic groups wishing for the country to join, while the Serbs strongly oppose it.
Lawmakers in Republika Srpska (RS), the Serb-dominated semi-autonomous entity within the country, passed a decision on military neutrality last year, in line with Serbia's stance on cooperation with the alliance.
Minister Pendes, who is a Croat minister in the state government, said the party she represents, the Croat Democratic Union (HDZ BiH), would maintain its stance on the matter and “intensively advocate for European and Euro-Atlantic integration.”
She refused to answer what if the political representatives of Republika Srpska demand again that the APN is removed from the agenda.
“That does not fall under our competency,” she said.
